HARTFORD, Conn. — No. 11 seed Saint Mary's will open their 2019 NCAA Tournament run against No. 6 seed Villanova over 2,600 miles from home at the XL Center in Connecticut on Thursday.

GAME INFORMATION
Game No. 33 vs. No. 25 Villanova (25-9, 13-5 Big East)
Date/Time: Thursday, Mar. 21 at 4:20 p.m. PST
Location: XL Center (Hartford, Conn.)
TV: TBS
Radio: Sirius Satellite Radio 138, XM Satellite 207
Live stats: http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=401123400
Game notes: https://smcgaels.com/documents/2019/3/19/NCAA_Media_Guide.pdf
Gaels' all-time head to head record: 2-1 (Last meeting: 3/20/10, N, SMC 75 — NOVA 68)

ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Villanova is the defending national champions and have won two of the last three tournament titles under head coach Jay Wright. The Wildcats won the Big East Championship this season after squeaking out wins over Xavier (71-67 OT) in the semifinals and Seton Hall (74-72) in the final round.

Nova has three players averaging double digits this season and are led by senior guard Phil Booth who has scored 18.6 per game. Booth is also averaging 3.8 assists and 3.9 boards in over 35 minutes of action. Fellow senior Erich Paschall is scoring 16.5 and is the team's leading rebounder with 6.2 rebounds per contest. Collin Gillespie, 11.1 points, is the final Wildcat is double figures.

As a team, Villanova has taken the fourth most 3-point attempts in the country and are shooting 35 percent from distance. No Wildcat is firing better than 38 percent from beyond the arc but six players have made at least 34 percent of their tries.

The Wildcats are a perfect 7-0 on neutral court this season but are 5-4 through their past nine games. Villanova is 26th in KenPom compared to 30th for the Gaels and similar to Saint Mary's play at a slow tempo.

GAELS AT THE BIG DANCE
Saint Mary's will be making their 10th appearance at the Big Dance this year. Previous years the team has made the tournament include: 1959, 1989, 1997, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2017. This is the team's seventh trip under Randy Bennett.

On their last trip in 2017, SMC squared off with VCU in the first round in Salt Lake City and took down the Rams, 85-77. Jock Landale led the team with 18 points and 13 rebounds while Calvin Hermanson scored 16 to help power the offense.

In the Round of 32, Saint Mary's ran into the second seeded Arizona and despite leading by 10 towards the end of the first half, the Gaels eventually fell, 69-60.

The team's most successful run was in 2010 when the Gaels upset 2-seed Villanova in Providence, R.I. to advance to the Sweet 16. Omar Samhan scored 32 points in that game to lead Saint Mary's.

LAST TIME OUT
For the fourth time in program history and first time since 2012, Saint Mary's cut down the nets at the West Coast Conference Championships after toppling No. 1 Gonzaga in dominating fashion.

Saint Mary's defense was vital for the team's win as they held Gonzaga to shoot just 38 percent from the field, their lowest total of the season, and 12 percent from beyond the arc. Zags' star Rui Hachimura was limited to only nine points while Zach Norvell Jr. was 1-for-11 and 0-of-6 from distance.  

The Bulldogs' 47 points was their lowest total of the season and 20 points less than their previous low of 67. With the win, the Gaels have now held their WCC rival to two of their three lowest scoring performances of the season after limiting GU to 69 points exactly 10 days prior.

Jordan Hunter was named Most Outstanding Player in the tournament after scoring 12 points and grabbing 15 rebounds against the Zags. The 6-10 center was a major presence around the hoop and notched a block and a steal as well.

Jordan Ford was the second Gael named to the All-Tournament and put up a game-high 17. Tanner Krebs added 13 more points, all in the first half, while Tommy Kuhse and Malik Fitts also had eight.

QUICK HITS
Saint Mary's has won seven of their past eight contests. The Gaels have held their opponents to just 53.0 points during that stretch and 38 percent shooting from the field as well as 27 percent from three.

Jordan Ford and Malik Fitts accounted for an average of 36.7 points per game during conference play, about 53% of the team's total scoring.

In 19 of Saint Mary's 22 wins this season, the Gaels have won by double digits and have won by 20 or more 10 times. In previous years, SMC has been criticized for a poor strength of schedule but the Gaels own the 18th best SOS in the nation this season, including a 37 non-conference SOS.

Saint Mary's is 15-0 this season when they collected 10 or more assists in a game. The Gaels are averaging 10.1 assists per game this season as opposed to 15.5 last year.

Jordan Ford has scored double-digit points in all but two games this season (vs. Harvard, at Gonzaga) and has 20 games with 20 or more points.

#GaelsRise – It's to renew your season tickets for the 2019-20 basketball seasons. Make sure to renew by May 1 to receive the best price and benefits, including a meet the team event in June …call the SMC Ticket Office today at 925-631-4689, email smctickets@stmarys-ca.edu or click the ticket link above to renew your seats now…Saint Mary's Basketball…#GaelsRise